What features should you look for amongst dozens of seemingly great grills online? What’s ideal for one grill master’s backyard might not be for another — especially given that grills come in several different styles, including pellet grills, charcoal grills and gas grills. With charcoal grills, I test for effective air control by smoking low and slow at 225°F, roasting in the mid-range around 350°F, and letting ‘er rip with a blazing, red hot fire. Leaky grills are harder to control and get rated accordingly.
The grill grate on a Napoleon is made of a thicker and flatter cast iron, which is an upgrade from the usual lightweight, stainless steel grates you see on most charcoal grills. However, it takes longer to heat up and is a weber charcoal grill different cooking experience from traditional charcoal grills. During our tests, we were only able to get our hamburgers to cook to rare, and our chicken did not sear and crisp up as well as it did on all the other grills.
It also includes a thermometer that measures the temperature inside the barrel and wheels for transport. Flimsy charcoal grills with loose, warped lids and rickety moving parts make temperature control a nightmare. Charcoal grills don’t need to be tanks made of heavy, quarter inch-thick steel, but they shouldn’t be tin cans that lack structural integrity. There’s weber charcoal grill nothing quite like the smell and taste of a charcoal grill in the summer. Charcoal grilling takes a bit more time and attention to get things just right, so when you choose to use a charcoal grill for a barbecue, everyone knows you mean business. Due to their comparably simple construction, they tend to cost less than a similarly sized gas or pellet grill.
When it comes to flavor, experts say it’s hard to beat a charcoal-fired grill. Karl likes to spread the charcoal so that it covers about half of the kettle. We didn’t have a charcoal starter on hand this time around, so we used some firestarter gel from Hasty-Bake. It doesn’t evaporate quickly like traditional lighter portable bbq fluid and doesn’t give your meat that gross lighter fluid taste. Once the victuals were hot and sizzling, they were eagerly placed inside soft Wonder Bread buns, slathered with ketchup and all the other fixins, and devoured with gusto. Since then they have continued to expand their indoor showroom and outdoor patio.
Weber even supplies a simple plastic tool to help you attach the thermometer without digging out a wrench. All you need is a Phillips screwdriver to attach the side weber charcoal grill handles, and something dense to tap the end caps of the wheel axle into place. One person can have the grill up and running within minutes of opening the box.